Washington Post staffer angry after Bezos blasts president. approval

For the first time time in 36 years, The Washington Post won't support a candidate in a presidential election — and her newsroom is angry.

On Friday, the Post'S Publisher and CEO Will Lewis announced in a released statement that they “will not be endorsing any presidential candidate in this election.” Not even in any future presidential election.”

“Our job as a newspaper in the capital of the most important country in the world is to be independent. And that is what we are and will be,” he added.

The post himself reported that his editorial management was poised days ago to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris over her opponent, former President Donald Trump, but a last-minute intervention by the newspaper's billionaire owner Jeff Bezos scuttled the planned endorsement.

Lewis – who previously ran the Rupert Murdoch-owned company Wall Street Journal and cut his teeth in conservative British publications – was hand-picked by Bezos to take over the magazine's helm in 2023 Post. His tenure has been marked by a series of ethics scandals, including the ouster of editor Sally Buzbee after she refused to bury a story at his request and revelations earlier this year that Lewis offered an exclusive interview to NPR in exchange for a kill agreement a story about Lewis' involvement in the cover-up of illegal phone hacking by Murdoch-owned tabloids.

Lewis is Bezos' man and according to the post's report, Bezos ordered him to delete the publication's already drafted recommendation for Harris.

When the news broke, the division between the Post's employees and its management became apparent almost immediately.

“That worries us a lot The Washington Post – an American news institution in the nation's capital – would make the decision to stop supporting presidential candidates, especially just 11 days before a hugely consequential election,” the said Washington Post Guild wrote in a statement Friday. “The message from our chief executive, Will Lewis – not the newsroom itself – gives us cause for concern that management has interfered with the work of our newsroom members.”

“We are already seeing cancellations from once-loyal readers,” the statement continued. “This decision undermines the work of our members at a time when we should be building, not losing, the trust of our readers.”

Others reacted less diplomatically. “If you don’t have the guts to own a newspaper, don’t do it,” said one post Opinion columnist Semafor said on Friday. A member of the Posts The editorial board told CNN the decision was “a brazen abdication of responsibility,” adding that “democracy dies not in darkness, but when people prematurely acquiesce to the whims of a fascist.”

Karen Attiah, columnist at post who published Jamal Khashoggi – a post The journalist, who was brutally murdered by Saudi government agents in 2018, wrote that the non-endorsement was an “absolute slap in the back” and “an insult to those of us who literally put our careers and our lives at risk.” to highlight threats to human rights and democracy.”

post Opinion columnist Robert Kagan confirmed to multiple publications that he resigned from the newspaper in protest over Bezos' intervention.

Long-term post Editor Marty Baron, who retired in 2021, was also dismayed by the news. “This is cowardice, a moment of darkness that is sacrificing democracy. “Donald Trump will celebrate this as an invitation to further intimidate Post owner Jeff Bezos (and other media owners),” he wrote to his former colleagues.

A similar implosion occurred earlier this week The Los Angeles Times after the newspaper issued its own non-endorsement of the 2024 race. Earlier this month the Just' Billionaire owner Patrick Soon-Shiong has pulled the plug on the editorial board's plans to support Harris. As a result, Just Editorial Editor Mariel Garza submitted her resignation Wednesday. “I’m resigning because I want to make it clear that I don’t agree with us remaining silent,” Garza told the Columbia Journalism Review. “In dangerous times, honest people must stand up. So I get up.”

The New York Times endorsed Harris in September, calling her the “only patriotic choice” for president. Rolling Stone Also endorsed Harris in September, noting that she is “a lifelong, dedicated public servant who believes that government exists to help and protect the American people” and that Trump is “demonstrably unable to do so ever again.” to hold an office.”